Delta
"He's waking up sir." I heard someone wispier in front of me. The ass kicking I got earlier made my head feel like a brick as I slowly raised my head up and opened my eyes. I was in a small, dark room that would be almost pitch black if it weren't for the small rays of light flowing in from the barred window to my right, indicating it was about midday. Looking up I saw my arms were chained to the stone wall behind me. I was still in my now slightly torn pilots suit, small comforts I guess. Looking forward I saw a small wooden table and behind it sat the same mysterious figure that beat the crap out of me and an armored primitive.
"Sleep well?" The armored one asked mockingly.
"well a man clubbed me in the back of the head and I woke up chained to a wall, so not really. Aldo this isn't a completely new experience for me." I answered nonchalantly.
"Now, you will answer our questions and if we deem you innocent you will leave here with a warning, if found guilty then you may have to get used to waking up in a cell." He informed me.
"Oh, joy." I replied sarcastically. The fat tin can picked up a small note pad and quill off the table and flipped a page over, dipped the tip of the quill in a small ink pot.
"Name?"
"Your mom." I answered casually, staring out the window. I saw out of the corner of my eye the guard flinch and look at me.
"Your name?"
"Your mother."
"...Tell me your name." He instructed.
Sighing, I looked at him and said "OK."
"Your name prisoner?"
"Your mother." I replied, with no emotion in my voice. He was clearly not finding this as amusing as me as he put his hand on his helmets forehead and sighed. The masked one just sat and watched me, giving no indication how he or she was feeling.
"Why were you at the scene of the crime?"
"Just looking for my stuff."
"What stuff?" He asked, hoping to get somewhere.
"Well, I was hoping to get the big pile of metal moving again." I informed.
"Sir, are you saying the giant wreck is yours?" He asked, I bet he was raising an eyebrow underneath his helmet.
"Yeap." I stated.
"Then care to elaborate on what it is?"
"...Na" I told him, as I turned to look out the barred window.
"Why not?" He asked, clearly getting frustrated.
"Well you see, I don't think your primitive mind would be able to comprehend what I would tell you." I responded absentmindedly.
"All guards in the Royal Army must pass an I.Q test with a score higher than the average worker. I think I can understand simple mechanics." He informed me, calling my bluff.
"Fine then. It is a Hunter class Skirmisher Chassis, a subdivision of the normal Warlock class Skirmishers, more specifically a S34 Harbinger, it is outfitted with lightweight metal armor to give it a light yet powerful protection from all forms of attack ranging from conventional to chemical. Its primary weapons are the standard hand mounted cannon and metal piercing scattergun as my Chassis was outfitted of CQC combat, but also comes with two rocket pods located on the shoulders of my Chassis, on either side of my cockpit. If that wasn't enough then it also comes with a retractable super heated laser attached to an unarmored third arm on the back, above the chassis flight model." I lectured him. As I droned on about the chassis's weapons I could tell he was confused and had no idea what I was talking about.
"I see you clearly aren't smart enough to understand me. Any more questions?"
One Hour Later
"What is your Gaia damned name!?" My interrogator yelled at me, mere inches from my face.
"That's private information, I'm em a non-consenting civilian! I'll sue!" I shouted back.
"What do you mean 'non-consenting'?! You're my prisoner damnit!" he replied, confused and angry.
"Well as your prisoner you should know this is pathetic. When I realized I was going to be interrogated I assumed I would be beaten or waterboarded or, you know, some of the other crap you hear from the movies. But no, it's just a loud prick and some twat in black pajamas. Are you under orders to re frame from hitting me?" I asked, curiously.
"That is classified information. You WILL answer my questions or else!" He screamed, punching the wall next to my head.
"...OK, just calm down." I pleaded as I lowered my eye and stared at my feet.
"...Now then, your name and purpose for being at the scene of the crime." He asked again as he took a few breathing exercises and flipped to a new page in his note book.
"My name is Dennis, I am a blacksmith and I was at the scene of the crime because someone told me that there was an abundance of metal in the area." I lied.
"Ok Dennis, who was this 'friend'?" He asked, hope clear in his voice as he didn't realize I was leading him on.
"Do you REALLY want to know?" I asked him.
"If you say 'your mom' I swear to Gaia I will hit you." He warned as he stared at me.
"...Your mother." I said, with a big smile on my face. He would have gotten up to beat me, if it weren't for the fact that his partner stopped him with one hand pressed against his breastplate. Sighing loudly he sat down and removed his helmet and rubbed his head. He looked...weird. He looked similar to me in the way that we both had feathers and beaks but there were subtle differences between us. My feathers were thicker and numerous, whereas his was layered enough to cover his body, but not so heavily layered as to give him protection against the cold as effectively. His beak was shorter than mine and completely yellow, where as mine was a few inches longer and had a small bit of black at the tip of my beak. He had purple coloring around his eyes, though that could simply be tribal makeup or cosmetics of some kind. Aside from that our features where similar enough for me to be mistaken as one of them, but if someone were to examine us closer they would find many more differences in the facial areas alone. He was pissed at me, but I now knew a few things for curtain: He was ordered not to hurt me for the time being, his partner was better at handling him or herself and he seems to be a bit on the dull side by how easy I can piss him off. This should be fun.
Two Hours Later
"I'm hungry." I announced to the annoyed guard as he rubbed his head.
"I know, you've told me ten times now." He replied, annoyed that I wont shut up.
"Well if you got me something to eat I would shut up." I told him, smirking slightly as he was beyond pissed off.
"Prisoner, you are in no position to be asking for anything. You WILL answer my questions and then I will see to sating your hunger." He informed me in a droning tone of voice.
"Na, I'm not in the mood." I told him as I rested my back on the wall, trying to get comfortable.
"I don't care if you're in the mood, answer my questions!" He shouted at me as he got up from his chair.
"Well, I might if I felt threatened by you, but honestly you're more of a joke than anything else. Terrible posture, crap armor, a face only a mother could love, you smell of poor hygiene and sweat, your threats are so tame I suspect a child could do better and to top it off I know you're under orders not to hurt me, if you were allowed to you would have by now." I stated as I smiled at him.
"You little fucking piece of shit." He muttered angrily.
"So you've finally cracked huh? I honestly thought after my admittedly terrible 'Your mom' insults you would have given up, but I can see you have an intellect that is AT LEAST bigger than a fifth grader. Still, you are anything but professional." I said, chuckling as he was visibly shaking. I could probably come up with better insults but hunger pains and a sore back where stopping me from concentrating.
"Prisoner, if you don't start listening to me, I will make your life a living hell! Understand me?"
Three Hours Later
"Hey, I need to pee." I told my "Interrogator".
"Shut up." He replied as he banged his unarmored head against the brick wall to my left. For three hours I had been repeatedly insulting him, changing subjects, stating useless facts or talking about things in ways he wouldn't understand and he was clearly giving up on getting anywhere with me. Strangely, the masked one just sat there, barely moving as I continued to annoy the person's partner. The only indication that I wasn't staring at a statue where the few times the masked one would write something down in the note pad.
"I can't take this...Shade, I'm going to inform the King that this is going nowhere fast." The Iron Idiot said as he left the room.
"Bring back some food and a bed pan!" I shouted at him as he left, closing and locking the door behind him.
"So, Shade is it? Mind telling me what your deal is?" I asked.
"..."
"All you've been doing so far is stare at me. I know im beautiful, but it got creepy over two hours ago."
"..."
"Are you a mute? I've always wanted to meet a mute."
"..."
"So whens dumbass gonna get back?"
"..."
"Don't know huh? I don't blame you, he doesn't strike me as the kinda guy who knows what hes doing. Ten bucks says he's died from incompetence by now." Strangely enough, my silent acquaintance started to write something down.
"Writing something down are ya?"
"..."
"yea, that's what I thought."
"..."
"Your a one trick pony, you know that? All you do is sit there like a jackass and creep people out. You would make a great mime, its basically the same thing, just shut up and annoy people till they pay you." I said, starting to get bored.
"..."
"So does your army employ the inept or are you a special case?"
"..."
"Say nothing if you agree with me that there is something wrong with you on the mental or physiological level."
"..."
"Man, its like talking to a brick wall with you." I stated.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hey, want to hear the most annoying sound in the world? Say something for no, say nothing for yes." I asked as I started to smile.
"..."
"GGGEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" I screeched, until Shade got pissed, removed one of his or hers boots and threw it at my face, hitting me right in the beck.
"Ow, you prick! That could have broken my beck, you see Shade, this is why no one likes you, your a prick." I shouted angrily.
In response, Shade wrote something down and showed me the note pad. It simply read 'Now were even'
"No, if we were even, I would have chained you to a wall and stared at you for a few hours will you need to take a piss."
"..."
"Oh, were playing this game again? Great." I replied, already bored.
"..."
"You know whats Dumbass's problem? He's too easy to get to. A few comments about his appearance or his families incestuous behavior behind close doors and hes banging his head against a wall. But not you, no your special.
"..."
"I got three theories in my head. One: you're a mute. You somehow mimed and interpretive danced your way through the chain of command and got here. Two: You're mentally handicapped. Your dad or mom is someone important and they bribed someone to get you in the military. Three: You're a zombie. Not the horror movie kind, but the honest to god voodoo kind. Someone resurrected you from the dead and he's on his lunch break or something, so that's why you're just sitting there locked in a room with me and dumbass, because your master does not need you right now and they paired you with someone of a similar I.Q level.. If it weren't for his lack of intelligence I would say your partner was your master...But no, someone like him could never figure out how to resurrect a corpse....Then again, im sure your master did not command you to throw a boot at me if I started yelling...Are you even listening to me?"
Anzu
"So...You gave up and came to me?" I asked, as the investigator I had assigned to question the unknown person they found near the anomaly. A brief examination showed us he wasn't like a normal griffon. His Plumage was too thick, he was taller than an average male, his markings were of a color and pattern not seen or noted by any previous tribe. Black and white where colors not seen on a griffon in eons. He looked like a more weathered and ancient type of a griffon and we would have inspected more of him than just his head but his strange clothes refused to budge. He's clothes was clearly either enhanced or sealed to him. I had hoped to get answers from him when he awoken but I seemed to have picked the wrong man for the job.
"I'm sorry my liege. His words got to me and I lost my temper." He apologized to me, clearly shameful and worried.
"It is quite alright Bucky, we had no idea how he would handle the situation and I'm sure despite his words he doesn't understand your current situation." I assured him as I put my hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down. "Now then, wait outside while I talk to him, I'm sure I can appeal to him." I instructed him as I moved towards the cell door.
"Sir? You going to talk to him?" Bucky asked me.
"Yes, and before you ask, no I don't think I would be in any form of danger. He's chained to a wall and Nightshade has been watching him. He is physically harmless and his words won't get to me." I told him, smiling slightly to reassure him. He took out the cell door key from his pocket and raised it to the doors lock, unlocked it and opened the door for me.
'Well then, Time to get some answers.' I thought to myself.
Delta
From my position I could see the prick from before outside the cell briefly before he closed the door and a new face. This guy was something else. He was tall, about my height and stood proud with a straight back and walked with a sense of purpose. He's feathers where snow white and golden in color, given off a faint yet magnificent light. He had bright blue eyes that held a deep sense of wisdom and intellect, he had a few small scars under his chin and left eye but he didn't cover them or try to hide them. Despite his wise and powerful look he was clearly young, barely an adult, and his smile and winning complexion made him seem all the more trustworthy. Atop his head sat an ornate golden crown that was studded with rubies, sapphires and emeralds and had small streaks of platinum in it. He wore a blue dress uniform coat with gold thread lining across the collar, sleeves, and bottom. Diagonally across his chest was a sash, it's three colors were blue, gold and red. Pinned to both his sash and his coat where various medals and badges of various shapes, sizes and metallic colors. All of them served to show his military prowess. on his left shoulder sat a large pauldron made of crucible steel and held a clean shine. His hands were covered by steel gauntlets but by the strange way his fingers curved it looked like he had talons or claws instead of normal fingers. He wore black dress uniform pants which had a chain leading from his waist to something inside his pocket and steel greaves instead of shoes. His clothes and armor were clearly weld made, fit for royalty. From his firm stance, wise gaze and the prideful way he held himself I could tell this man was someone of high importance.
"Good morning, I em King Anzu II, ruler of the Altai Mountains and the Avatar of war, though you may call me Anzu, or King anzu if your formal." The new guy said to me with a smile and a small chuckle. Shade, or what ever the guys name is, got up and saluted him and then walked next to the cell door as Anzu took the guys place.
"Lets cut the niceties out ok? I don't particularly like waking up in a BDSM dungeon and have two mentally questionable idiots annoy me." I told him, just wanting to get back to finding what's left of my team.
"I apologize for your accommodation, but you did cause quite a stir last night, and we weren't sure how to handle an odd case such as yourself." He calming said as he adjusted his seat and looked at me.
"Well I don't exactly take kind to primitives who tell me that my stuff isn't mine. Are all your soldiers incompetent or are Shade back there and Dumbass outside the only exception?" I asked.
"Nightshade here happens to be a highly trained scout and Bucky outside is-" Anzu started in a calm tone of voice.
"Wait, he's name is Bucky?! Thats hilarious!" I said, laughing with a huge grin. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Are you done?" Anzu asked patiently as I calmed down.
"...Yeah im done." I said as I got everything out of my system.
"As I was saying Bucky is a royal investigator and happens to be the soldier you tried to assault with this, mind telling me what it is?" He asked as he pulled out my pistol from his back pocket...Apparently he had it their the whole time, kinda weird but whatever.
"It's my gun, I call Her Trailblazer. Based off the Old World gun, the Steyr M1912, It is a similar model in design but the casing is made of super light crucible steel giving it a nice shine and the handle grip is real leather. It fires Hard Light shards instead of regular bullets or plasma rounds and can fire at a rate of thirty rounds per ten seconds on fully automatic. Some say its a marvel of science and engineering. I call it a gun." I told him, both honestly and in away that he wouldn't understand.
"Hard light?" He asked as he picked my the gun and started looking it over.
"light that has been transformed into a solid state. One of the most complex achievements of modern science and we used to power guns. The ammunition of the gun is see through and has a bright orange glow inside the casing, but like glass, the rounds shatter after they either break the skin or armor of my target. The rounds are outlawed in some places and the rounds are hard to come by, which is why the military outfits Hard light magazines with a small, yet powerful, solar panel on the side of the magazines. Strap them to your hip and let them recharge all your spent ammunition." I once again told him truthfully.
"Amazing, simply beautiful in design alone. Tell me, who made this?" He asked, astonished at the hand held cannon.
"My dad, he was a renowned gunsmith in his prime." I told him as I remembered moments of my childhood.
"Where might your father life? A man like him must be a savant in his field, I would gladly offer him a position in the royal armory." he asked hopefully as he continued to examine the gun.
"He's dead, passed away years ago, he gave me his gun as a final gift..." I said simply as I remembered the years past.
"Oh, my condolences. I did not mean to reopen old wounds." He apologized as he put the gun on the table in front of him.
"Don't be, that wounds long since healed...Now will you please uncuff me? I'm starting to loss feelings to my legs and my arms hurt." I begged, wanting to start moving once more.
"No not yet. First you must answer my questions. I need to know a few things before I let you go. And don't lie, I known when a subject is lying to me, so I'm sure I can read you too." He told me seriously as his tone shifted from calm to stoic.
"Fine, I'm to tired and hungry to mock you anyway." I told him as I looked him in the eyes.
"Your name, occupation, what the pile of metal in the snowy fields is and where did you come from are my first few questions." He asked me as he got up from his chair and moved in front of me.
"Delta Archae, I'm a pilot, the pile of metal is my Chassis and I don't know who much your people know about space but I'm sure you saw the giant explosions last night. The thing that explosion was my home, and it was destroyed with all my stuff in it." I answered truthfully, the last two questions shocking the King.
"Fine. Next, Can your people travel through space, Why did you come here and what are your intentions?" He asked, trying to remain unfazed by the news that I came from space.
"Yes, obviously, I came down to this rock in a fight to make sure something worse didn't come down instead and my intentions? What intentions? My stuff is either useless at the moment or broken, I have no idea where any of my people are and I have no idea where I am. My only intention is to survive long enough for someone to find me and get me off this planet." I told him bluntly.
"Lastly, do you plan- "
"To harm your 'innocent' civilians? All you asked me as been asked before by more primitive species before you to any dumb ass explorer that decided to visit an unknown planet and the questions get more and more cliche as time goes. No, I don't plan to hurt your people, but if they try to harm me I will fight back in self defense." I told him, rolling my eyes at his generic question.
"Fair enough, I can't realistically expect you to re frame from harming people in self defense. Step out of line and we will arrest you, remember that. Nightshade, Uncuff him please." Anzu ordered as he walked back behind the desk and picked my my pistol.
"Thanks...So, we good?" I asked as I messaged my bruised wrists and slowly regained feeling in my legs.
"Define good." He simply said.
"Can I leave?" I asked, slightly annoyed.
"No." He absentmindedly said as he continued to examine my gun.
"And what, pray tell, is stopping me from attacking you and Shade and make a run for it?" I asked angrily as Shade tensed up.
"No need for hostilities, I'm doing whats best for you anyway. Even if you were to somehow outrun my guards and cross the border, because that's the only way you would avoid being beheaded for assaulting the king, where would you go? You're not from this planet, you know no one, you have no idea of the geopolitical world around you and I know everything that goes on in this land, plus you look terrible. If you want to life your best bet is to stay here under supervision and learn about the world around you before you go on some grand journey." He said with a smile as he quickly unraveled my plan of boldly rescuing my team.
"...Can I at least have my gun back?" I asked simply, sighing angrily.
"And how do I know you won't attack me and run off?" He asked with a smirk.
"...Touche." I angrily muttered.
"Cheer up Delta Archae, I'm sure your new lodging will have a toilet and I'll order the chefs to prepare a feast fit for a king!" he said as he opened the door. Resisting the urge to punch him in the mouth for making a pun, I walked out of the room while being guided by Shade. Unbeknownst to me, the King followed closely behind, with hope in his eyes and a plan taking form in his brain.